We are being told, by everyone with even a slight vested interest, that the new revolution in home entertainment will be LCD 3D TV. You can take it as read that you will be able to buy a 3D TV well before the year is out.
For anyone who are old enough to remember the pretty appalling attempt at a 3D film, Jaws 3, back in 1983, it will come as no surprise that the technology dates back to some time in the early 1970s. We have come a long way since then. The recent release and box office success of movies like Avatar and Monsters vs Aliens, both of which commanded a much higher ticket price than a 2 D screening and the planned big budget releases in 2010 of Tron Legacy, Shrek Forever After, Alice in Wonderland 3D plus many many more shows the public are taking to the technology this time round.
The big consumer electronics manufacturers have recognized this and the Consumer Electronics Show in January this year turned into nothing more than a bit of 3D one upmanship on the part of those companies. Ever where you turned the likes of Panasonic, LG, Sony and Samsung where lining up to their floor shows with the mantra seeming to be "mines bigger than yours", with Panasonic taking bragging rights with their fantastic 150 plus inches of plasma 3D TV. They all have new lines ready for release this year and Sony do have the 3D ready Bravaria TV on sale right now.
One of the main gripes about 3D in the past has centered around the image flicker. It does seem that HDTV 1080p along with the latest generation of LCD 3D glasses has put paid to this problem. These latest 3D glasses are a million miles from the blue/red lens numbers used in the early days. They have powered shutters that are synced, using radio waves, with the projected left and right eye image. They can also now be purchased with Bluetooth technology as I saw these being promo'd at the show.
So we have the 3D LCD TV, we have the 3D LCD glasses both working together, but what about the content? 2010 will be the year that 3D broadcasting becomes main stream. There are a number of big media companies working hard to push the technology forward and not just for those with deep pockets. They needed to match the commitment of the manufacturers to deliver this instantly to the masses or once again it stood a chance of stalling before it really gets started. BSkyB are well into their testing and I would not be surprised if their projected autumn 2010 launch is not brought forward, with their sports broadcasts of some of the main summer sporting events making it onto 3D. Across the pond ESPN have committed to in the region of 100 broadcasts during 2010 in 3D. Put those together with the tri-company partnership between Sony, Imax and the Discovery Channel to provide consumers with 3D broadcasts and you can see this is going to happen very soon.
It goes without saying but the LCD 3D TV market is going to get pretty hectic and the consumers choice of which, what and where to buy a 3D TV will just get harder as time goes on, because we all know that historically this happens.
No comments:
Post a Comment